Maria Callas would be blasting in his studio, the model in full hair and make-up, standing on a raised platform with Tony hunched over his drawing table with his sooty chalks, cutters and calligraphy pens. Tony would get possessed when he was illustrating. Would share a story about your relationship with iconic photographer and illustrator Tony Viramontes, whose life was tragically cut short by AIDS? That was almost the end of their friendship and my mother was in a terrible mood for a long time after it because he asked her to wear a pink shirt! You can see the photo here. Finally, after many years of friendship, he asked my mother if she would like a family picture as a gift, and she said she would love a picture to use as the family Christmas card. Slim loved color, and my mother always said, “Slim, this is not Palm Beach! He just said, “I want more color!” My mother enjoyed Slim’s company, as a fellow American, but it was also hard work, and Slim was a demanding photojournalist. Slim and my mother also used to argue a lot about staging the shots at my home. He took one look at him and said to my face, “No. But I also had a guest staying he was not handsome but he was a super famous punk star. One day, when he was shooting at our home, he asked my sisters if they had handsome guests staying there that he could shoot. Slim Aarons only wanted to photograph beautiful people in beautiful places. I promised her I would give her polo lessons.

Jackie then chatted to me about horseback riding and gave me her full attention, ever so charming. We had never seen a naked person before, let alone one standing in front of us without a care in the world. Graciously, Jackie steered the group of kids away while Aristotle wrapped a towel around his waist. Seeing that his guests had arrived, he climbed out of the pool at started welcoming the group. As Jackie was giving us a tour of the yacht, we arrived at the swimming pool where Aristotle was doing laps. Aristotle and Jackie Onassis were giving a casual lunch. I remember going onboard the Cristina, Aristotle Onassis’ yacht, when I was 11 years old. Would you share a favorite story about growing up? You enjoyed an idyllic childhood in southern Spain’s Andalusia region where guests like Jackie Onassis, Maria Callas and Slim Aarons visited your family home.

Wildchilds by Eugenia Melian